Photonics-electronics convergence/CPO is making a major shift toward integrated operation spanning technology development, mass production, testing, replacement and second-source availability. The report says that, around ECOC 2026, developments at the operational stage became increasingly evident.
During the period under review, discussions at ECOC 2026 progressed from a focus on performance to the operational stage, premised on mass production, testing, replacement and securing second sources. CPO is seeing an increase in customer engagements and progress toward establishing mass-production capabilities, strengthening its influence on implementation design across AI infrastructure.
Coherent announced PhotonLink as a platform integrating CPO, NPO and chip-to-chip optical connectivity, and disclosed more than 10 CPO and NPO customer engagements. Revenue is expected to ramp up from the fourth quarter of 2026, with the number of engagements and revenue timing becoming the key evaluation criteria.
At ECOC, Marvell demonstrated 2nm-generation technology at 400G per lane and showcased a CPO platform in the 102.4Tbps class. Optical communications designs are advancing toward the 3.2T generation, and customer evaluations with a view to the timing of mass production are being given greater importance.
In Japan, a demonstration of regionally distributed data centers using APN is under way. NTT East, NTT West, NEC and five other companies are participating, bringing deployment strategies for AI data centers combining optical connectivity and power into sharper focus.